Beck Water

I agree with you, but it also has to be recalled that the announcers were sort of yukking it up about how vanilla and un-specific Spagnuolo's defense was against Denver. Payton can attack specific defenses, but McDermott also does have a good track record of attacking and confusing rookie QBs. EDIT: I do think it should be pointed out that Denver's QB coach is Davis Webb. He knows Josh Allen well.

First off Mad Props to you for your apology and I appreciate that. I think we have a lot of points of agreement, actually. I understand you feeling that Thomas was a special talent and worthy of giving up our 2nd round pick and getting back change. And the early returns are, he's a quality NFL player. It actually looks as though a player drafted after Coleman, Ladd McConkey, is also a quality NFL player and could have been had without a trade-up. What it really comes down to is, for whatever reason, Beane and his scouts were higher on Coleman's potential (he is not a fully developed WR at this point) than they were on either of those guys. You could be right that it's an opportunity lost. On the other hand, Beane has to assemble a roster of 53 players. There have been a number of studies done that conclude, because there is so much uncertainty in the NFL draft, in general it is better to stand put or trade down and have more picks than it is to trade up - the exception being "franchise positions" such as QB where you either have a great one or your team is stuck in neutral. One could make a case that by trading up two slots in two preceding drafts at the cost of a 4th round pick each time, Beane put himself in a spot where he needed to over value that 2nd round pick. For example, there are 2 CBs drafted in the 2nd round (Roger McCreary TEN and Cam Taylor Britt CIN) who seem to be good players (I don't know anything about McCreary), while Kaiir Elam whom we traded up for, can't even see the field. In Round 4, 2 spots after Pick 130 which is what we traded Bal to move up, GB drafted Romeo Dobbs who has been a solid WR for them; there were also some OLmen who have good wAV drafted in that area. So yeah, trading up can mean an opportunity lost too.

The big question is whether the Bills are "locked in" and focused. And the players need help getting to that state, will the coaches be able to inspire them? It's easier to pump up the team when they're the underdog. You get the "no one believes in us but WE KNOW! WE ALL WE GOT! WE ALL WE NEED!" "They're looking past us! WE'LL SHOW THEM!" and so forth. Buffalo vs Everyone! Well, now we're the favorites. And we saw in LA, that if the DL doesn't "bring the intensity", our D can be put on skates. We'll see.

I'm not worried about mental impact. Guy plays football and basketball, he can get hit. Given how long Keon was out, the hit may have physically damaged his arm and impacted his ability to catch the ball and hang on to it. Someone here have said they had a source that his arm was broken - although the next week, he was seen doing footwork on the sideline without wearing a brace or splint, not sure how common that is for a break? but damage to the ulnar nerve or to ligaments are also possible, and would potentially affect his ability to catch and grip the ball. Keon said something at one point that implied he was held out a couple weeks due to problems catching.

No argument

Don't Hold Back, Troy, tell us what you really think . "But other than THAT, Mrs Lincoln, how did you like the play?" Raises my opinion of Aikman. Could they possibly have found a less flattering picture of his wife?

Denver did finish the season with the #3 rush defense as far as yards given up. I wish I had a "way back machine" to pull the stats after Week 17 because this past Sunday's games skewed everything, and the game where they gave up 27 rush yards and 71 pass yards to a KC team that was just not trying certainly contributed to great states. But I think the bottom line is we'll try to run it at them, but it's not a foregone conclusion that we can.

I mean, it's the playoffs. Do we expect to be playing a bad team where we love the matchup?

Serious question: have you ever watched Rashoman? If not, you really should.

Good for them!

Sooooooo in your view it read like it was requested by McDermott .....more than a year ago? and Dunne performed on request -- but the request came just before the playoffs? What Dunne said about McDermott reaching out makes a lot more sense in the context of both Beane and McDermott separately meeting with Dunne at the Combine last spring, and I think another time. But I can't imagine McDermott reaching out to a journalist at this time of year.

You can't leave us hanging there Yolo you rascal! What did he say?

FWIW, Cooper's own explanation was that he hurt his tailbone. And if he needed time to rest and recover, the optimal place would be One Bills Drive. There would be no need to make any announcement about a "personal matter"; just put him on the injury report and let him stay in Buffalo to rehab as other players with injuries have done this year.

No, we can't talk to a player under contract, that includes pending UFAs. As a courtesy, a team can release a healthy player and he can be signed to the PS or the 53 man roster. I'm actually fuzzy on how the waiver process works at this point of the season though.

Late to the fair here and butting in. Good thing Coleman wasn't a first round pick then?? Pickens is at 57.3% this year His first 2 years were 61.9% and 59.4%. I think he may be a good wide receiver with a bad attitude (which seems to be endemic in Steelerland, but I digress). I think his problem this season is he doesn't believe in Santa Claus Russ Wilson anymore For whatever it's worth, Coleman was at 61% catch rate before his arm got Poyered. And yeah if he wants to be The Man he better get with Moulds like Shakir did, in the off-season. Gabe Davis averaged 54.5% with not much variance during his 4 years in Buffalo. Davis was at 47.6% this past season in Jax. In case you need it said, you're correct that none of the preceding are good for a WR I honestly think Josh Allen is both a blessing and a curse to WR. On the one hand, he will extend plays, find receivers, and throw to them where other QB would not, giving them more opportunities. Blessing. On the other hand, he throws with such velocity that receivers legit struggle to hold onto those Allen piss-missiles, especially when the weather is wet and their glovies don't work or it's cold and their fingers are numb. Curse.

I "get" what you're seeing in that from the perspective of gaining separation, this season features arguably the worst WR corps Allen has had since 2018. I'm going to disagree with you that it's the or one of the most Allen-centric seasons ever because of two factors: 1. first time since 2017 that the Bills have had a plausible run game that didn't go through Josh Allen. literally, Josh at a career low for rush attempts per game 2. only season of Allen's career where YAC have exceeded CAY, meaning the receivers are all contributing after the catch with their legs far more than previous years. I've actually been kind of stoked about both of these observations. But I also worked on a version of "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" where "Hippopotamus" is replaced with "good receiver corps" (try it - it scans). I plan to record it and send it to Brandon Beane. You can question me all you like tho

Something to be said for that viewpoint on causality.

Rudolph and Dobbs were drafted 3 (2018) and 4 (2017) years before Roethlisberger hung up his cleats (2021). It seems pretty standard to use a mid round pick or two on a QB a team can develop as a backup, while they still have a starter in place. Pickett was drafted in 2022, which is when they brought in Trubisky. Again, it seems pretty standard to bring in a veteran guy you think can be a "bridge" QB for the rookie you're developing. Bringing in Fields and Russell Wilson seemed like grasping at straws to me. I can't speak to the knowledge of "any casual fan", I defer to you there.

Yeah, I do say "nonsense". Bass has not been "Bass O Matic" this season and has missed 5 out of 64 extra points.

As far as what I've written, I think we've lost the plot; I wasn't trying to "deny the superiority of his peers". If that's how you interpreted what I wrote, I apologize for not writing with greater clarity. If I have to say it explicitly, Thomas (and other WR drafted in the 1st) have been better WR than Coleman to date. I was responding to a guy who was all "stupid Bills should have drafted Thomas". My point to him was, Thomas was not practically available to the Bills without the use of draft capital they lacked going into the draft (2024 3rd round traded for Douglas in 2023). (to you) I was not trying to say Coleman is better than Thomas. Thomas obviously had a good rookie year. I'm not really down to argue whether Nabors with 109 receptions or Brock Bowers with 112 receptions were better. I wouldn't even argue if you want to say Thomas had a great rookie year because definitions, semantics. Good on you for recognizing talent pre-draft.

I'm glad you're having fun. Let me know if you actually want to talk about something.

Gunner, and I mean this in the kindest way: a man has to know his limitations. Seriously. If you find yourself declaiming that a former all-pro center turned media commentator is wrong, you really need to reflect a minute. What you have to say about how Coleman runs routes, has validity. He was drafted for his ceiling, not for who he is right now. At the same time, Allen was connecting with Coleman at a 61% rate before Coleman's injury. Part of that is because as they build familiarity, the QB knows how the WR is going to run the route, and puts the ball in the place the WR needs it to be *as he is actually running the route*, so he can catch it. That is why Trubisky's comment was something to the effect that if he'd had more time to work with the receivers they would have made a couple of those work.

Waxing moon this week, Check. Bison range, locally available although possibly hard to dig right now, Check The wolf whiskers have me stymied. Are there any acceptable substitutes? I'm wondering if instead of breaking it or burying it, I should fill it with sage and burn the sage, in a petition to the spirit of the Bills former greats to enter and inspire this team.

Ooooh. Living in St Louis, it would be hard to find a Flutie vs. Johnson argument. For that matter, it's hard to find Labatts and Canadians. I see your point about the honest and honorable breakage, though.

I think those are reasonable and likely valid points. In the case of Roethlisberger, though, I suspect he was a bit of a 1700 lb Polar Bear (where does it sit? anywhere it wants). Roethlisburger predated Tomlin as HC by 3 years and won a Superbowl before Tomlin arrived. So while the points you make I'm sure are valid regarding Tomlin's voice in who the Steelers draft and the type of players they value, I would guess that Tomlin, and even Colbert, had their influence on a QB succession plan outweighed by the Rooney family - who may have felt that Big Ben had earned the right to be "done" when he decided he was "done", and not rushed out the door.